Gundam Seed: Counter Action
by EvenAngels
Summary: Tells the tale of four ZAFT pilots and one civilian who are caught up in a battle of disception and hatred. Side story to Gundam Seed Destiny. All original characters. Please note I do not own Gundam or any of its trademarks. I only own the original chars
1. Prolouge

The stale air filled with the sounds of gunshots. Giant glass test tubes shattered covering the floor with deadly shards. Children were running down the corridors screaming for help. Tall men in blue uniforms followed them with guns blazing. It was horrific.

A group of children no older than thirteen huddle together in a small room. To the top of the metal door to the room was a reinforced glass window. They watched shadows of people run past and one stop in front of the door. The shadow was too small and thin to be one of the men. Gun shots filled the air again. A haunting scream of agony was heard from outside before blood splattered over the window.

The eldest of the group in hiding looked up toward the ceiling. There was a ventilation shaft. She slowly stood up trying her best to stay in the shadows. Grasping the ventilation cover she tugged with all her strength.  
"Here. Everyone go in here. You'll be able to get out."

The other children were so young and innocent. They couldn't have possibly understood the hidden meaning in those words. The five of them climbed up on the girls back one at a time and then into the vent. They crawled in the opposite direction of the screaming.

One of the boys looked behind but he couldn't see the girl who had helped them in the vent. He had just enough space to turn around. He shuffled back toward to the roof only to hear the horrid sound of machine guns. He heard the metal door shut and footsteps moving away from the room with haste. From the vent he could the girl. She lay amongst a stack of boxes. Her blonde hair was stained rose red in places. Her white dress was covered in blood and her eyes seemed to be gazing up at him. She had put the cover back on after the children had entered the vent. She had sacrificed herself for them.

The boy found himself unable to move. Sounds of men running back and forth consumed the vent. With his eyes full of tears he began to shake. The anger he felt was immense. He turned around once more and began to crawl as fast as he could.

Every so often he came across another ventilation cover. Each one showed a similar image. The others. The children he had grown up with where all being slaughtered. As he reached the fifth vent cover her saw a man with silvery grey hair and a yellow attire. The strange man was accompanied by men carrying machine guns. They were taking three of the children. The boy recognised them as Sting, Auel and Stellar.

He kept crawling. He could see some light in the distance. He inched forward through the vent shaft. The others seemed to have escaped. He was going to do the same. He would escape and make those men pay for what they had done. He arrived at the only crossroad in the vents. Ahead he could see what looked like an exit. To his right was nothing but darkness and the sound of screaming. To his left was a horrible sight.

One of the children he had been hiding with lay in the shaft. He was mangled almost beyond recognition. Small dots of light shone onto the corpse through bullet holes in the vent. In tears, he crawled toward the exit.

It was night. The blanket of stars was such an amazing image for a boy who had never been outside. The atmosphere was ice cold. The trees around him swayed in the wind. A squirrel darted across the branches rustling the browning leaves. The entire facility was surrounded by an enormous wire fence. The building itself must have stood out completely against the backdrop of trees. It was a huge square of white concrete and silver metal.

The boy ran toward the fence. He had to find a way out. As he ran alongside the fence he tripped over a darkened mass on the floor. A loose pile of dirt. Someone had dug it up recently. He looked around, hoping to find a way out.  
"Over here!!"

A voice bellowed from behind him. It was too dark to see who it had come from. All he could make out were a group of silhouettes approaching.  
"We've found another survivor sir!"

The group was closing in. The boy found himself too scared to move. As the men stepped out from the facility's shadow and into the moonlight he saw them at last. They were wearing red instead blue. A group of children were clinging onto these new soldiers with all their might. One leant down towards the boy and said three words that slowed his racing heart.  
"You're safe now..."


	2. Chapter 1

The cold emptiness of space was silent. The glittering blanket of stars was covered by nearly fifty green Nazca class space battleships. Small white shuttles flew through the void between them. A single fragment of rock floated by. It was so peaceful.

In the far west was a small glimpse of the PLANT colonies. They too had been peaceful for two years. The new Council had made the nation strong yet calm. They were admired by almost everyone in ZAFT. The world had changed so much. On board one of the battleships a young man dressed in a red ZAFT uniform stared out the window. There was a cold and solemn look on his face as he placed one hand on the ships window.

"Rael!"

A familiar voice rang loudly from behind. Rael turned his head away from the window just enough to see who it was. Standing there was Miles Cameron. He was already in his pilot's outfit. It was the traditional red outfit given to elite graduates of ZAFT's Academy. As Miles walked closer he brushed his excessively long, bleach blonde hair out of his eyes.

"Hello Miles." Said Rael in a very cold tone.  
"Oh come on dude! You gotta cheer up!"

Miles patted Rael on the back as he spoke. The hit knocked Rael forward slightly. The look he received for the gesture could have killed him. Rael wasn't in the mood for his happy go lucky attitude. They were about to drop to Earth to carry out one of nearly a hundred undisclosed missions. He was anxious. Who wouldn't be? He had no idea what he was doing or where he was being sent.

"Well. I dunno about you man, but I'm gonna go get ready. We launch in twenty!" continued Miles. Rael lifted his shoulders and breathed deeply. He'd hoped he would never have to return to Earth. His kind weren't welcome there. Then again, he was only accepted in PLANT because so few knew what he really was. Neither Natural or Coordinator. He was one of very few citizens of PLANT, and the only soldier in ZAFT who needed Glipheptin at regular intervals.

Chairman Durandal had decided to keep the existence of Rael's type hidden for now. Apparently it wasn't the right time to announce it. He had, however, ordered Rael's suit to be filled with a Glipheptin injection system. That meant Rael could fight for as long as necessary without suffering withdrawal symptoms. He owed a lot to the Chairman. He owed a lot to the Council too. They had sent the ZAFT soldiers to the facility. They had sent his rescuers.

Rael took one more deep breath before turning away from the window and head toward the changing room. The corridor was unusually empty. Everyone was on the bridge. There could be no mistakes with this mission. They couldn't afford to stay to long after launch in case they were detected.

On the other hand, they couldn't launch too earlier or the pods would be caught on the Alliance's aerial scanners. The drop had been timed precisely. They would drop within the three minutes it takes for a maintenance system checks to be carried out on the scanners. They would be turned off during that time. The grey door to the changing room slid open. It was empty.

Rael opened his locker and picked out his pilot suit. He slipped out of his uniform and into the suit hastily and grasped his helmet. Unlike his uniform, the pilot suit and helmet were a dark blue.

He marched into the Mobile Suit dock. Miles had already left in his GUAIZ. At the back of the room was Rael's custom painted Slash ZAKU Phantom. It was also a light shade of blue.

To his right as he walked through the hangar was another GUAIZ. The cockpit was open. Another pilot was climbing in at that moment. His was wearing another red pilot suit. The pilot turned and spotted Rael.

"Commander Lockhart! It is good to see you are ready!" shouted the pilot.

It was Alexei Wolf. He was youngest of the three Lockhart squad members at seventeen. His was a rather scrawny man but he never tried to act tough to make up for it. He always wore his glasses underneath his visor in combat. He never took them off as far as Rael knew. The helmet itself covered his short dark hair but his freckles were always accentuated by the red of the pilot suit.

Rael formed a small smile and saluted Alexei before moving toward his ZAKU. Alexei climbed into his GUAIZ and activated it.

Rael gripped onto the rope lift tightly as it pulled him up to his cockpit. For the boarding platform that was made by the cockpit opening you could see his personal insignia on the shoulder. It was a pair of revolvers crossed in an 'x' within a shield shape with a tidal wave and lightning storm in the background. He had earned the title of the "Storm Of Bullets" when he took down twenty Daggers with a standard GUAIZ machine gun.

He had heard rumours that the Extended may possess high abilities than most Coordinators. He didn't believe it at first. Apparently though, hardly any other pilots have carried out such a feat.

He sat in the seat and strapped himself in. The cockpit door folded closed and his was entombed in darkness. Flicking the system boot switch he illuminated the cockpit with light from the computer screen. The operating system flickered into life and the visual screens flashed on. The words "Shadow Of Cerulean" appeared on the computer screen. It was the name Rael had given his suit.

The ZAKU began to walk to the catapult. Alexei had already launched. The suit started to float as the catapult initiated. A sudden burst of thrust send the Shadow Of Cerulean flying forward and out of the ship. Rael took control of the systems and span the ZAKU around a half circle to face the battleship once again. Hanging below it was the drop pod for his squadron. It wasn't going to be long now. Alexei and Miles were already docked with it. He approached the pod and span around once again. The pod's clamps clutched the suit's shoulders and the out casing folding down around the squad.

"Are you two ready?" asked Rael."Yes, Commander!" replied Alexei.  
Miles responded by saying, "yeah I'm good to go sir!"  
"Alright, drop begins in t-minus thirty seconds."

For this particular drop each pod was in charge of itself. That was because each had a different landing area and mission.

"All systems optimal." Rael continued, "re-entry preparations completed. Launching in 5… 4… 3… 2… Lockhart Squad ready… launching!"

The grappling hooks holding the pod released. A sudden rising force took over Rael as the pod fell. He was sure that he would be pushed against the cockpit ceiling if he weren't strapped down.

The entire pod began to shake with incredible strength. It felt like an earthquake, or at least what Rael imagined an earthquake was like. They didn't happen on PLANT and he hadn't experienced one at the facility. He closed his fist tightly around the thruster controls of the ZAKU and narrowed his eyes. He was falling quickly to the one place he never wanted to go again. He began to recall the images he had seen that fateful day. All those poor children. He remember the escape well. A single tear fell down his face as the communication system began to beep. He pressed the activation button and the Nazca class ship's Captain appeared on the screen.

"Commander Lockhart. We have received your destination and mission. You are to landed thirty miles in land from the Alexandria port in Egypt. Your squad will then proceed toward the port where the Alliance are secretly producing neutron jammer cancellers. You will destroy the production facility. Should there be any armed resistance you are authorized to use force. Understood?"  
"Yes, sir!" replied Rael.

The pod was heating up. They had reached the re-entry point. The vibrations increased in strength. Rael turned off the communication to the ship and opened a channel between himself and the other two.

"Miles. Alexei . We have received our orders. Upon landing we are to head toward a production facility at Alexandria and terminate it."  
"What facility dude?"  
"It's producing N Jammer Cancellers."  
"What!? But that's– " shouted Alexei.  
"Illegal. I know. Which is presumably why we are to get rid of it. Do you both understand the mission?"  
"Yes sir!" replied both men.  
"Oh, and Miles. Don't worry. If they put up an armed resistance you are allowed to use your gun."

The shuddering of the pod started to calm. The temperature was decreasing too. According to the computer they would be at the landing site in one minute. Rael's eyes narrowed again. He was almost on Earth.

The pod's navigation computer started to bleep. It was time to launch."Alright you two. Here we go!" said Rael.The pod's outer casing blew off and the restraining hooks let go of the suits. As they fell the suits faced horizontally. Upon nearing the ground the trio ignited their respective suit's thrusters, righting themselves. The Mobile Suits landed on sand. Thankfully the suits had been prepared for such a situation. The only information they had been told about the mission was that they would be fighting on sand.

Rael had asked Alexei to reconfigure his ZAKU's operating systems to suit the desert. He would have done it himself but it would have taken weeks. He wasn't a Coordinator after all. He could just pilot Mobile Suits like one.

He activated and checked his scanners. Nothing. It was a dead wasteland. The clear blue sky might have been beautiful if the sun wasn't being down so strongly. Sand lay on the ground for as far as Rael could see. A strong gust of wind threw a large amount of it onto Alexei's camera.

"Dude. This place sucks!"  
"I agree. Commander? Which way do we go? I want to get out of here as quickly as possible."  
"We head north. Alexandria is roughly thirty miles from here. It won't take too long."  
"Understood Commander."  
"Well then. Let's get on our way man!"

The three Mobile Suits started to walk toward Alexandria. It would take approximately half an hour to get there. Rael thought to himself. It was good place to build forbidden technology. No-one in their right mind would come to this place. Perhaps that was why they sent his squad. They were, after all, rather reckless at times.

He recalled their previous mission. A small army of soldiers still loyal to the old ZAFT tried to attack PLANT. They said it had gone soft and needed to fade away with the Naturals. They had quite the admirable amount of pilots and battleships. They would have made a very good fleet if they weren't stuck in the old ways.

Rael had ordered Alexei and Miles to take care of the rebel's Mobile Suits whilst he went for the battleships. He had to duck and dodge shots from numerous cannons whilst destroying the ships. It was that day he earned his title. He flew in and out of the ships firing his machine gun. One ship fell after the other.

The other were speeding around cutting down or blasting every enemy they saw. They had a habit of firing incredibly close to each other's suits to get a target behind the other. The three of them always looked after one another. Their survival came first. The mission a distant second.

After the longest thirty minutes of his life Rael saw the port of Alexandria on the horizon. On the scanner he detected a small number of Mobile Suits. He closed his eyes briefly and gave a heavy sigh.

"You two. They have Mobile Suits stationed there. We're gonna have to fight. Are you ready?" asked Rael.  
"As ready as I'll ever be dude."  
"Yes Commander. I'm ready."

Rael drew his ZAKU's great axe. His head titled downwards and he stared out of the top of his eyes. Whilst clicking his neck he breathed heavily yet again.

"Alright. Let's go!"


	3. Chapter 2

"Mother! Stop it, please!"

A young girl was sitting at home in front of a mirror. The building was a small white stone house. On the opposite side of the room was a large wood fire. A middle aged women was standing behind the girl. She was fumbling with the girl's hair trying to straighten it into a pony tail. A smile formed on her frail looking face.

"Aria please. You look a state. I cannot have you leave for school like this.""I know Mother but I can dress myself.""Well when you start doing so I will stop helping you!"

Aria gazed out of the window. The view was always the same. Sand and dried out trees. She never understood why her mother had moved them both to such a place. She was able to attend the Alexandria College from their old village. There didn't seem to be a logical reason.

Either way she hated it. Aria disliked getting hot and sweaty but how can you stop that from happening in a desert?

Her mother tied a light blue bow around her hair at the top of the ponytail. Aria smiled and stood up. She glided over to her wardrobe and began rummaging through her many outfits. Five minutes passed whilst she scrambled through her collection of garments before she finally chose one.

Aria slipped of her nightgown revealing her slender body dressed in just her underwear. She lifted up her arms and her mother slipped a lovely pale blue dress over Aria's head.

Aria smiled and curtseyed before turning toward the kitchen area. Opening the fridge she reached for the last slice of her mother's four day old birthday cake. After scoffing that she picked up a chocolate bar and opened it with a loud rustling.

"Aria! I have told you need to stop eating so much! You have a chocolate bar in your packed lunch along with sandwiches and an apple!""I know. I am just having a quick breakfast.""A slice of cake and a chocolate bar-"Aria's mother was interrupted by the sound of an engine and a beeping horn."Oh, the bus is here. I've got to go mother. We will talk later. Bye!"

Aria quickly ran over to the shoe rack and donned her white slip-on shoes. After opening the wooden front door to the house she hurriedly ran out toward the bus.

She stepped onto the yellow school bus and paid her fare. As usual she got very odd glares from everyone on the bus. She didn't really have a lot of friends. She did really have any. She walked gracefully to the back of the bus and sat down by herself.

The bus rattled as it accelerated. A cloud of sand was flung up behind it and it sped off toward the city. Aria sat quietly, staring out of the window. It was always the same. Once she had heard someone talking about her on the bus. They had said "she tried too hard to be posh when she was as common as dirt."

That was her biggest problem since she joined Alexandria College. Everyone there came from wealthy families. They had been born with money. She hadn't. In fact her mother still had very little money. Most of it was going on Aria's tuition fees. She always tried to fit in but she never could. For some reason it was always the same, no matter where she went. She would try to fit in the rest of the people and they would shun her.

She let out a quiet sigh then lay her chin on her hand. She looked out of the window once again. If anyone had cared to look at her they would have seen an expression of loneliness and longing. She had always been longing for something. She just never knew what.

An hour passed. A silent hour as always. The bus slowed to a halt and the doors hissed open. Everyone disembarked. Aria was the last to get off. She looked up at the seven hour a day prison that was her school.

It used to be the manor of an Earth Alliance leader who moved abroad. It was four floors tall with a very Victorian style. It was completely out of place in Egypt. Aria had been told by her mother that it was built especially for the Alliance official. It resembled the country manors of Old England she had read about in history books. Whilst staring at the building as she always did something caught her eye. Something in the sky was flashing.

All of a sudden hundreds of orange and red streams filled the sky. They looked like shooting stars. It was a magnificent sight. Aria stared up in awe. Her mouth was wide open and she was smiling at the same time. She heard a group of boys behind her mention the spectacle in amazement. She presumed everyone else must have been looking at it too.

A short moment later however, it was over. Aria shut her mouth and with a small smile gazed up at the sky for a further few seconds. Closing her eyes and smiling to herself she turned toward the school again. As she walked toward the entrance she stopped suddenly.

A cold shiver ran down her spine as a look of confusion covered her face. She turned her head toward the south. Something was there. She was sure of it. Why was she sure of it? What was "it" in the first place? A sense of fear struck her all over and she wrapped herself in her arms.

Taking a few very heavy breaths she tried to relax herself. What was it she was feeling? She couldn't understand it. Her thoughts were disturbed by the school bell ringing loudly. She was late for class.

Aria shook her head quickly before collecting herself. She blinked slowly and started moving toward the school. She would have to work out what that feeling was at later time.


	4. Chapter 3

The floor was cold and comfortable. A young lady in a red ZAFT pilot suit slowly opened her eyes. Pain took over her entire body. Using nearly all her strength she sat herself upright. Crawling into a corner she leant against the wall and examined her predicament.

She was in a dull grey room. It was tiny. A miniscule amount of light shone through a barred window in a metal door. As she looked around the room she spotted a silhouette in the opposite corner. Squinting her eyes and focusing hard she was able to make out the form of a person sitting on the floor like her.

"Who's there?" Her voice was hoarse from the pain. The person seemed to respond. They moved slowly toward the light. She saw the person's right arm and leg as they reached the light. They were wearing a green ZAFT suit.

"Commander Campbell? Is that you Cadence?"

The voice was familiar. She knew it well. It was Ensign Ricardo Hernandez. He was one of her squad members. His arm was covered in bloodstains. All of sudden she remembered what had happened. They had been in a drop pod on the way to Cairo when the Alliance had spotted them and opened fire.

The pod has been severely damaged and she had ordered everyone to perform an emergency bail. She could remember the incredible bright light of the sun burning her eyes as she jettisoned herself from the pod.

Cadence had seen the other three pilots leave the pod as well. Ricardo was here. Perhaps the others were. She couldn't remember what happened after they landed. She just remembered getting caught in her parachute after she hit the ground. She must have passed out. She ran her fingers through her dark red hair to move it away from her eyes.

"Ricardo, where are we? What happened to your arm?""Oh Cadence! Thank god you are alright! I… We're in an Alliance holding cell. They… They attacked us after we landed. They killed Chris and Kato. They.. were gonna kill you too…"

That when it hit her. The wound on his was a bullet wound. As Ricardo moved gradually into the light she could see he was riddled with similar wounds.

"Ricardo! What the hell did they do you!?""They were gonna… kill you… I wasn't going to let 'em…"

Ricardo slumped to the floor. His handsome young face looked so void of feeling. Cadence knew it. He was dying in front of her.

"Ca… Cadence… You've gotta… get out of here… At least one of the squad should… survive…"

His eyes suddenly looked so blank. His body slipped to floor. He was laying flat on the back not making a sound. Cadence sat in the shadow looking at the body of her team mate and friend. She understood all too well what he had done. Ricardo had received those wounds defending her. He died because of her. The Alliance would pay for this.

Cadence spent the next hour sitting in the corner wrapped in a ball. She was constantly rocking back and forth with a look of hatred on her face. Footsteps approached the door. A shadow was cast through the barred window as the handle started to twist. Cadence closed her eyes and lowered her head. The door slowly swiftly open and a pair on men in blue Alliance uniforms walked it.

"Well look what we 'ave 'ere! Seems the dumb sod died on us!" said the shorter of the pair."We've still got the girl over there. The Captain will be satisfied." Said the other.

The hatred in Cadence rose. How dare they refer to Ricardo like that. She waited. She was sure they would walk closer to her. Her eyes slowly opened underneath her hair and she examined her prey. The taller one had a knife attached to his left leg. That was her key. He did exactly as she thought. Dumb Naturals. They were all so predictable in person.

He neared. She smiled. Jumping to her feet she caught him off guard. A swift kick to face knocked him backward and she span round, grabbing his knife. She pounced. The knife did its job. Thrusting it into the soldier's heart she forced his body to the ground. As she tore the knife out blood flew onto her face. Her expression resembled a wild animal. Cadence turned her attention to the other soldier. He was trembling. She darted across the room and drove the knife into his neck. Payback. He deserved it. They all did. Those damned Naturals!

The soldier's lifeless body fell to the floor. The door was still open. Leaving the cell she ran as fast as she could down the corridor hoping she was going the right way. As she dashed round a right turn a soldier in front of her saw her. He raised his rifle. Cadence dived and rolled. The knife found his abdomen before he could fire. She forced the knife out of his body, sideways. Grabbing the gun she pocketed the knife in her pilot suit's sheath.

Ahead of her she could see a pair of metal doors. On the wall next to it was a painted sign. It read Mobile Suit Hangar with an arrow pointing to the doors. She made up her mind. She needed a suit. That was all there was to it.

The doors flung open as she kicked them. An engineer turned around just in time to see her pull the trigger. The room filled with the sound of gunshots. There we only four engineers in the hangar. Other than them it was empty. Cadence wasn't going to let them live though. Not after they killed Ricardo, Chris and Kato. The engineers died quickly.

She discarded the gun and began to climb a ladder to the left of the room. At the top was a long metal bridge leading to the cockpits of three mobile suits. There was a Buster Dagger, an incomplete Strike Dagger and a damaged Windam. Only one choice. She leapt into the pilot seat and closed the hatch. The system activated and the suit's eyes illuminated. The visual screens kicked in and Cadence started the suit moving.

She readied the Dagger's cannon and aimed at the hangar doors. The blast sent the doors spiralling through the air allowing her to escape. Such low security. Did they really think that would hold a Coordinator like Cadence? She was a ZAFT Red for a reason.

The light burnt her eyes once again as she left the hangar. She wasn't used to sunlight. They didn't get the real thing on PLANT. The Dagger turned around and aimed the cannon once again. This time the shot his the Windam. The suit exploded instantly covering the hangar in flaming metal. Cadence turned the suit toward the building next to the hangar. It had been where she and Ricardo were imprisoned.

She knew Ricardo would want her to destroy the place. She said on last goodbye to him in her head and fired twice. The facility burst into flames. She saw one soldier run into hangar. She wasn't going to let them escape! She shot at the coupling holding the Strike Dagger.

It fell to the floor, crushing the soldier and tilting to the left. Landing flat on its side it blocked the exit. Perfect thought Cadence. She had a sinister smile on her face as she turned the Buster Dagger around and walked away.

There had been so many other drop pods. Someone must have landed relatively close. She hacked into the computer's communication and scanner systems with incredible speed. Searching purely for ZAFT drop pod communication channels she picked up a result. A total of two hundred miles east of her current location.

She would need help in order to complete her mission and avenge her teammates. The suit started to walk forward. It would take a good few hours to get there. The suit was slow and heavy. Cadence closed her eyes briefly.

"Ricardo… Chris… Kato… I'll avenge you. I promise."


	5. Chapter 4

Rael moved in first. Miles and Alexei readied their rifles. The Alliance suits came into view. There were five 105 type Strike Daggers. Basic Grunts. It wouldn't be too hard he thought. He engaged his thrusters and sped toward the closest.

The Dagger swiftly turned to face him. Rael swung his axe. The Dagger raised its shield and blocked the attack. After activating its beam sabre it went for a counter strike. Rael darted backwards just avoiding being hit. The other four Daggers flooded with life and began to close in on him. Rael smiled and clicked his neck once again.

A green beam of light flew past him and missed one of Dagger's head by mere inches. Another followed shortly after. Unfortunately it was blocked by one of the Dagger's shield. Alexei moved in before Miles. It was their usual style of attack. The Dagger furthest from them drew its rifle and fired. The shot hit Rael's left arm causing his suit to stagger backwards. The closest Dagger then swung his sabre again. Rael hurriedly moved his left shoulder shield into its path. He only just managed it in time.

The four Daggers opened fire. They were all aiming at Miles and Alexei. Beams of coloured light flew around like tennis balls. One of Alexei's shots disconnected one of the Dagger's arms which crashed to floor and fell into the facility, ruining a small section of it.

Miles fired and hit one of the suits in the shoulder. The beam dissipated on impact sending a few heated rays into the facility. The Dagger returned fire. The shot hit and severed the left forearm of his suit. Rael couldn't believe it. Miles had never got hit by a grunt before.

Rael used his shield to push his attacker backwards. He then proceeded to thrust the tip of his axe into the cockpit of the Dagger killing the pilot instantly. The facility had to be destroyed soon. If they took too long reinforcements would be sure to arrive. Using his impaled axe Rael lifted the suit into the air. As he slammed the suit into the facility it slid off the axe and detonated. The building was almost instantly consumed with flames.

With one arm left Miles fired. The aim was perfect. The beam tore through the one-armed Dagger's power core. The suit exploded from the inside out immediately. Fragments of metal debris littered the area.

Two of the Alliance suits turned and started to flee. The remaining Dagger opened fire upon Rael who had his back turned to it. The shots send the ZAKU jolting forward. Rael was thrown about in his seat and smacked his head on the back of the chair. It hurt. A lot. He span the ZAKU around and ignited the thrusters to full. The power of the engines flung up the debris surrounding him as he flew toward the Dagger, axe ready. He dashed to the left and brought the axe blade in line with the Dagger's waist. The axe ripped straight through suit slicing it in two. The explosion illuminating the blue ZAKU's back for a few short seconds.

Two left. Rael felt rather upset though. They were fleeing. Even so he was under orders that if he is spotted by military personnel then they cannot be allowed to live. He had already explained that to the other two. They would understand his next order. He was sure of that.

"Right. Guys. We're going to chase those two suits. You know we can't allow them to escaped.""Roger that!" replied Miles."Y… yes Commander."

Alexei's stuttering was expected. He was similar to Rael in his view of battlefields. If someone is retreating they should be allowed to. Regrettably it couldn't be like that. Those pilots had to be silenced. The trio engaged their thrusters and gave pursuit.

After a mere five minutes the Daggers came into view, and targeting range. Alexei and Miles both took aim. They fired. Each attacks hit one of the thruster packs on the suits. That didn't stop them running away though. In the distance Rael could see a beautiful building. It looked like a Victorian manor house he had seen in his ancient history classes. They were closing in on it.

The Daggers stopped and turned around. Rael and the others slowed to a halt. The Daggers drew the beam swords. They were challenging the squad. Rael tilted his head slightly to the right before giving a few gentle nods. He raised his axe once again.

"Miles. If your suits up to it at the moment then keep watch. Reinforcements may arrive.""Alright sir.""Alexei. Since you still have both you suit's arms you can help me in this. They want a fight then we'll give them our best. Understood?""Understood Commander.""Alright. Just… try not to damage that building. I kinda like it."

Alexei chuckled.


	6. Chapter 5

It had been such a normal day until then. Aria had attended her lessons as usual. People had ignored her as always. It was lonely but at least it was normal. She liked it when things were normal. Everything went crazy that afternoon.

She had gotten that same weird feeling and cold shiver she had felt when she saw the shooting stars. Something had made her look out of the classroom window. She'd never had the urge to look out of the window. There was never anything to see normal. Then again, that afternoon wasn't exactly normal.

She had spotted something on the horizon. It had looked like streams of blue and green flying from left to right. When the streams had disappeared they were replaced with what looked like flames. She had felt so scared at that point it was unbelievable. That was when she saw perhaps her worst nightmare. Everyone knew what a mobile suit was but so few civilians ever saw them. She, however, saw five coming towards the school.

The evacuation alarm ran out, filling the building with a shrill beeping. Everyone around her started to panic. She just sad, frozen, staring out at the approaching mobile suits. Her teacher grasped her hand.

"Come on child! We have to leave!"

The woman's voice was filled with fear. Aria breathed very heavily and forced herself to stand. Had anyone else seen the mobile suits? They must have. Someone must have. That was why the alarm was ringing.

Aria picked up her bag with her books and lunch box in and fled the room. The wooden floors of the corridors were creaking constantly as children and adults ran towards the many staircase. Everyone was hysterical. Aria herself was petrified. Her hands were shaking fiercely as she sprinted along the corridor behind the teacher and other students.

"They're here!! Hurry!!"

Those words only served to fill Aria with more terror. The elderly principal was yelling for everyone to leave the school quickly. As Aria reached the ground floor the building vibrated. She could see one of the mobile suits had fallen over into the section of the school that she had been sitting in. She couldn't believe her eyes. There were mobile suits fighting outside her school. It was supposed to be a time of peace! What was happening?

She hastily ran out the front door and down the steps. The mobile suits were right in front of her. Two of the Earth Alliance's suits were fighting one of ZAFTs suits and one she had never seen before. It was a light blue with some sort of shield on each shoulder. It was carrying an indescribably huge axe. They were towering above her.

As she moved to follow the rest of the students one of the Alliance's suits sidestepped around the blue suit and shot it in the back. The blue suit was sent forward in Aria's direction. All she could do was watch in fear as the suit's foot was nearing her. All of sudden the suit shifted to the right and the foot landed a few metres to the side of her. A rather angry voice came out of the suit.

"What are you doing you idiot! Don't just stand there! Get the hell out of here! Do you wanna be killed!?"

As soon as the voice stopped a flash of light flew past its body and hit the school. The roof shattered and the walls cracked. Aria looked up at the devastation of her school. Suddenly a huge slab of concrete from the roof fell loose and began to fall to Aria. She shut her eyes and screamed. All of the students who had run away turned and looked in horror.

Crash! The concrete hit the floor. A gust of wind caused by the impact sent Aria's hair fluttering. She opened her eyes. She was still alive? How?

She looked up. The blue suits axe was imbedded in the ground and rose over her. The pilot had just saved her life. He spoke. Once again it sounded seriously angry.

"What the fuck are you doing!? I just told you!! Run!! Get going!!"

She turned around and stared at the suit. Suddenly she got that feeling again. It was so much intense this time though. She looked at suit for a couple of seconds before nodding sharply and running away as fast as she could.

Whilst running she glanced back at her saviour and couldn't help but smile. She felt a strangely warm sensation inside her as she stared. Another beam of like flew into the battlefield. This time it came from another ZAFT mobile suit. The beam ripped straight through the Alliance suit before colliding with the school. Another chunk of concrete fell to the ground.

The first ZAFT mobile suit then sped toward the last Alliance suit. The Alliance suit tried to bring its beam sabre down on top of the ZAFT suit but it grabbed the Alliance suit's arm. Within a couple of seconds the ZAFT pilot has forced his sabre through the other suits torso, causing it to explode. Aria kept running. In an emergency like this they would immediately board the bus and go home. They did.

As the bus drove away from the horrifying scene Aria stared back almost lovingly. She was still in disbelief at what had happened. Despite being almost killed everyone still ignored her. The desert sand soon covered the back window and she could barely see as the ZAFT and blue mobile suits walked off.


	7. Chapter 6

The sand seemed infinite. Cadence had no idea Earth had anywhere that post-apocalyptic. Sand dunes littered her entire view. Wind threw dirt all over the place. The temperature was insane. If it weren't for the Buster Dagger's air conditioning system she would have been boiled by now.

She hated it. She wanted to be back at PLANT. She wanted her teammates back. It was because of them she was going through the desert though. She wasn't about to give up. She looked down at the scanner and sighed.

"Only about another hour or so… Shouldn't be too bad I hope."

The Dagger itself was down to only half its power supply remaining. It was surprising for Cadence as all she had down was walk. She rubbed the sweat from her brow and breathed deeply. She hoped that the soldiers who were in that pod were still alive and nearby. She didn't want to have walked all that way for nothing.

The sand rolled on. Every so often the emptiness of the clear blue sky was disturbed by the odd bird. Not a single cloud passed over the area no matter how much she wished for it. Just a short break from the sun. That was all she wanted. She couldn't simply stop and hide in the shade as the soldiers may leave the area during that time. She had a better chance of finding them if she kept moving.

The sun kept beating down over the desert. It was blinding at times. Cadence couldn't believe somewhere could have such hostile nature. PLANT was never like this. The cities were always so calm and peaceful. She missed her home so much already.

At some point in time she was going to need a bath. She still had some blood on her face. She had tried to rub it off with her pilot suit but it hadn't worked completely.

Even with the air conditioning system the temperature was getting seriously high. It was too hot for Cadence to bear. She unclipped the straps on the pilot seat and stood up as much as she could. Slipping out of her pilot suit she suddenly felt a lot cooler. She placed the suit on the chair to stop her from sticking to it if she sweated too much. It was the first time she had ever piloted a mobile suit wearing just her underwear.

After what felt like a lifetime the scanner began to beep. She was closing in on the pod relatively quickly. She gave a sigh of relief as it came into view. She approached. Just as she thought it was empty. She leant forward and using the computer, scanned the area for any ZAFT IFF codes.

Three appeared. They were all grouped together north of her location. It looked like it was only about twenty minutes away. She got dressed into her pilot suit again in excitement. She had to look reasonably presentable when meeting up with another squad. Cadence turned the Buster Dagger to face north and started walking again.

After about five minutes she noticed it was getting darker. The sun was setting. She smiled. At least for a short part of her trip she would not have to deal with the blinding light. The temperature was dropping slightly as well.

In the direction of the IFF signal was a small canyon style crevice. Cadence used the camera to zoom in as much as it could. She make out the existence of three mobile suits and a small amount of light but nothing else. She continued forward. A sense of accomplishment filled her body as her smile grew large.

It wasn't long before she entered the crevice. It was small but deep enough to hide a mobile suit from the view of any other direction.

Unexpectedly she was greeted by a blue ZAKU Phantom. On its shoulder was an insignia and the words "Storm Of Bullets". Cadence could hardly believe her luck. Not only had she found the ZAFT soldiers she was looking for, but one of them was an Elite pilot. The ZAKU raised its axe. The pilots voice sounded.

"You made a mistake coming here!"

Cadence suddenly remembered she was in an Alliance suit. She quickly sent her personal ZAFT IFF code to the pilot. The ZAKU's axe lowered slightly and the pilot spoke again.

"Step out of the suit!"

Cadence opened the hatch and stood up. She stepped forward so that the pilot could see her face and uniform. The ZAKU neither moved nor communicated for the precise amount of time it would take to run an identity check on her.

"Very well Commander Campbell. What is it you want?""Before I answer that would you please identify yourself? I like to know who I am talking to.""Very well…"

The ZAKU's hatch opened and a pilot not much older than her stepped out

"I am Commander Rael Lockhart," continued the pilot, saluting Cadence. "How may I help you?"

Cadence saluted back.

"I was to ask for your help in completing my designated mission. I, too, was part of the drop deployment but my squad was attacked and have been killed.""I see… Well then you had better move your suit next to the GuAIZ on the left. It will be out of sight there. Please join my team members and I at the fire. We can talk there."

The GuAIZ was rather amusing. Apart from its left forearm it was completely standard. The forearms on the other hand seemed to be from a Strike Dagger.

The encampment was basic at best. A camouflage netting provided a roof and hammocks were set up between the posts. A small fire in the middle provided them with light and heat. Over the fire was a sort of homemade stand with a pot of stew sitting on it. Cadence walked over and saw the three members of the squad.

"Please. Sit down…" said Rael.

He passed her a mat to sit on. So basic. She had never experienced anything like this.

"Allow me to introduce my teammates. The one laying on the hammock is Lieutenant Miles Cameron."

Miles looked completely relaxed. He lifted his left hand to his mouth and took a drag from a cigarette before turning and bowing his head toward her.

Rael continued, "and over there is Lieutenant Alexei Wolf.""Wolf? As in Wolf Medications?" asked Cadence."That is right Commander. My family owns the company."

Rael, Miles and Alexei. She had heard those names before. They had fought against the Alliance terrorists. She remembered. They were heroes in many people' minds. How lucky could she get!?

"So you wanted our help, right?" asked Rael."Err… Yes. Shall I explain the situation?""Please."

The fire flickered. The small amount of light illuminated the groups faces within a slight orange tint.

"As my squads pod was falling we were intercepted by the Alliance… We all ejected. As far as I can tell I lost consciousness when we reached the ground. Two of men were killed there and then. They took myself and my subordinate prisoner. When I came around my subordinate was dying for bullet wound he had suffered protecting me. I proceeded to escape and destroy the Alliance base using that Buster Dagger. Unfortunately my mission was left incomplete."

She saw Alexei's face gain an expression of sadness. Rael tilted his head. He looked like he was deep in thought.

"What is your designated mission?" said Rael."We were to destroy a mobile suit production facility near Cairo.""Why destroy a production facility?" asked Alexei."They are attempting to create nuclear powered mobile suits."

There was a long pause of silence. Alexei seemed very taken back by the news. Miles took another couple of drags and Rael starred toward the fire. They were all very strange people in Cadence's opinion. They seemed very quiet. People around their age shouldn't be like that.

"Very well. We will help, but may I ask one thing in return?""Of course.""Please do not endanger my men. I do not mean that to be insulting but it is something I must ask."

Cadence gritted her teeth. Even if it wasn't mean to be that was rather insulting for someone to say to her. She was ZAFT Red. It wasn't like she was some good for nothing rookie. It was insulting, but she had to ignore it. She needed their help. Besides, it was an understandable thing to ask. She would probably of said the same thing.

"I give you my word. If it would make you feel more comfortable I will place myself under your command until the mission is complete."

Cadence had never thought about doing anything like giving up command before. Then again, she had never been in this situation before.

"If you truly do not mind then that would be most helpful but I will not ask it of you…" said Rael."No I don't mind. After all, you are all agreeing to help me.""Very well. We will leave tomorrow. You may have the hammock behind me. We have a spare that I will set up and use. Get some sleep for now. I am sure you could use it."


	8. Chapter 7

The house was empty besides Aria. Her mother had gone on the bus the Alexandria for groceries. Aria sat on the beige sofa with her head tilted to the ceiling. She was mildly in shock. She had witnessed a mobile suit battle outside her school and her life was saved twice by one of the pilots. Who would believe that.

Of course, she knew, it wasn't like anyone would care either. They didn't exactly pay any attention to what she said. They would have just let her die if they were in that suit. That blue suit. What was that?

She dropped her gaze to the fireplace. Her head filled with images of her unidentified hero's mobile suit. She remembered that weird feeling as well. The shiver down her spine and a strange sense of familiarity. She felt like she knew the pilot. Somewhere deep inside her she knew him. That couldn't be though. She had only ever known the rich cowards that surrounded her since birth.

Perhaps it was the same as back then. When she was still very young she been able to sense someone's presence. She and her mother had been trapped in a fire and her mother was about to give up. She was too. Until she felt the presence of someone running toward them. She was right as well. They had been saved just a few minutes later. She had never understood what had happened that day. No one believed her either. Not even her mother could believe what she was saying.

Aria picked up her diary that was on the floor next to her. Unclipping the lock on it she began to flick through the pages until she found a blank one. Grasping a pen from the coffee table she started to fill the page.

_"Dear diary,__Yesterday was incredible. I've never experienced anything like it. I met my hero! In a way at least. A load of mobile suits actually fought just outside my school! They were in the school grounds! We all had to evacuate. It was so thrilling. The building was shaking so much! One of the suits even fell into the school. It destroyed my class room! Luckily I had already left. When we got outside I saw them up close. They were huge! My life was even saved by one twice! A bright blue one. I have no idea what type it is. It was working with ZAFT though so it must be theirs. __I wonder what the pilot is like. I really would like to meet him. I want to know his name. What he looks like. I wonder how he acts around people. He seemed very loud over the speakers. He sounded angry. Not surprising though. I was walking around in the middle of a battlefield. Wow I really hope I get to meet him in person next time!"_

Aria closed the book and locked it again before gently placing it on the coffee table. She stood up from them couch and walked over to the stereo. She was going to cook dinner that day so she needed some music. It helped her relax. As she flicked the power on the house filled with beautiful piano and violin sounds.

She strolled elegantly over to the kitchen counter and picked up a knife and a carrot. Whilst cutting the vegetables her mind was again wondered to her hero. Would she ever see that mobile suit again, let alone meet the pilot. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Four o'clock in the afternoon. Her mother said she would be back around five. One hour would be enough.

She gazed out of the window. As usual there was nothing but sun and sand. This time, however, she was glad to still be able to look at it. If it wasn't for that pilot she would have been dead. She sighed. Was her life going to return to the same boring routine as it always had been?


	9. Chapter 8

The heat was even more intense that morning. Cadence had been woken by Rael rustling about. He and Miles seemed to be preparing themselves. Looking at her watch she groaned at how early it was. Five in the morning! She never woke up at five in the morning.

Alexei had been getting into his pilot suit. Cadence was the only one still in bed. That was another thing she wasn't used to. She had always been the first to get up in her squad. Usually at about eight. These three seemed so much more disciplined than she was. Whilst looking around the amp she unexpectedly found herself staring at Miles, who incidentally was staring straight back. He smiled. Cadence could feel herself blush.

There was a sort of portable partition to her left. It was set up to block the view of anyone on the other side of it. Cadence was curious."Uh… Hey guys!? What's that for?" she said, pointing to the partition."Oh that," replied Alexei. "Rael and Miles put it up for you thins morning. They said something about you probably not wanting to change in front of us."

She was shocked. She'd never been shown such kindness before. She slipped out of her bed whilst still in her sleeping bag. After hopping over to the partition she proceeded to get changed. She need a wash but it was unlikely that was going to happen for a while.

By six o'clock they were all ready and waiting in their suits. At least now she would be able to complete her mission. That would be a small token of revenge for her squad.

"Right. We're leaving!" shouted Rael through the communication device. The ZAKU's light flashed yellow, followed by the other suits. One by one they left the crevice encampment. Rael was in front. That was just another thing that took Cadence by surprise. She always used to go at the back. A commander should always be protected by their subordinates. That is what she though. Then again, he subordinates had died protecting her. Did Rael want to protect Miles and Alexei? They did seem close after all.

The sand was fluttering around. Must be usual thought Cadence. It would take nearly five hours to get to Cairo. The communication system started up again. It was Rael.

"Alright. Everyone listen up. Seeing as we're now a four man squad we'll do this a little differently. Miles. You and Cadence will take point and provide support fire if needed. Alexei and I will move to the factory and secure it. Once I have deemed it safe, Cadence, you can destroy it.""Me sir? But… You're the commanding officer of this unit. Shouldn't you fulfil the mission?" asked Cadence."It's not my mission."

Cadence understood what he was saying. He wouldn't destroy a facility unless ordered. Just like a true soldier. She was definitely in the company of real professionals. She was lucky.

She had no idea what the facility was going to be like. They hadn't received any information. It was a very strange mission, even for a covert operation. They usually received at least some information about the target.

Once again the sun beamed down. At least this time she had the option of stopping and finding shade. The group would let her. She was sure of that.

She last four hours in heat before she needed to stop. Rael seemed to understand. Unfortunately they were in the middle of nowhere. The suits would have to provide the shade. All four of the gathered in a circle and opened their respective hatches. Cadence could tell she stank of sweat. She hated this place. All she wanted was a good shower!

"How is everyone feeling?" asked Rael.

It surprise Cadence again. He was so concerned about his subordinates. She had always been concerned about her teammates but never asked them if they were feeling alright.

"Yeah dude. Just bloody hot!" replied Miles."I am alright sir!" said Alexei."How about you Cadence? Other than being hot."

Rael chuckled as he finished speaking. He actually looked rather cute when he smiled.

"I'm okay sir. Just a bit worried about the mission…""Oh. Why is that?" asked Rael."Well. I am concerned that I have yet to receive any information about the facility other than its location." said Cadence."I wouldn't think on it too much. We didn't receive any information either."

The group all sat down on the ledges created by their cockpit covers. A warm gust of wind shot past tugging the sand along with it. Rael was sitting still with his eyes closed not saying a word. Alexei was laying on his back sheltering his eyes with his hand. Miles finished another cigarette and threw it down to the sand before running and jumping the gap to Cadence's suit. Landing just in front of he smiled and sat down.

"Err… Hello Miles.""Hey," said Miles, with a quick laugh. "I was just wondering, when did you finish at the academy? You're a ZAFT Red like us but you're not form our year. We the were the only one."

The only ones? That was impressive thought Cadence. She really had been lucky to meet these guys.

"Oh. I graduated last year.""Ah cool. One year behind us three then. So that must make you about nineteen or twenty then…"

Miles voice seemed to trail off as his face started to resemble someone in deep though.

"I'm nineteen. Why do you want to know?""Just want to get a bit more about you. I'm twenty one myself. Rael and Alexei are all twenty. Although Rael's birthday is in about three months.""You three know each other well then?""Oh yeah! Since we were like twelve or thirteen. Been basically brothers since then!" said Miles."You all seem very friendly. Although you are probably the friendliest. You actually make the effort to come over and talk to me…""Well… Err… You see…"

Cadence sniggered. Miles stuttering was an amusing sight.

"What is it Miles?""Well," started Miles, sighing as he said it. "I want to get to know you, because I think you're hot. Personally."

Cadence was immediately taken back by his words. She had never been cold 'hot' before. No one had even shown any interest in her as anything more than a commander or friend before. She felt herself blushing again.

"Alright everyone! We'd better be moving!" shouted Rael.

He was right. Although Cadence felt a want to talk with Miles more they had to get going. The mission needed to be completed. She was a soldier. The mission had to come first.

As the cockpits closed Miles looked over a Cadence and winked. She smiled back. The suit kicked into life again and began to move in the direction of Cairo. It wasn't much further to the mission coordinates. She was glad. She would get another small measure of revenge for her teammates.

After a short hour they could see the city along with the facility. It was about one mile outside of Cairo itself. As expected Mobile Suit heat patterns were detected from its vicinity. 105 type Strike Daggers. The Alliance seemed to be fielding them everywhere these days.

"Alright everyone. Do it as I said!" shouted Rael.

Miles knelt down and prepared his rifle. Cadence did the same. Rael moved round the right whilst signalling Alexei to take the left. Cadence's heart was pounding. She'd never provided covering fire before.

Alexei entered a small forest. Rael was entering the outer reaches of the city. It was a wreck. The buildings were falling down. Small shanty houses were dotted around. All of which looked recently burnt down. What had the Alliance done?

The Daggers moved. Too little. Too late. Rael shot toward the right most unit. His axe tore through the suit in an instant. One of the Daggers raised it rifle. It would have been successful as well if it wasn't for the beam sabre that suddenly bust through the cockpit. Miles fired. The shot ripped the head of one of the Daggers. Cadence aimed.

"Locked! Fire!"

As she screamed a massive beam of energy flung from her rifle. It vaporised the left sides of two units. That left three. One of them swung for Alexei. He tried to dodge. His right hand thruster dropped to floor. The Dagger swung again.

It jolted sideways. A beam of light struck through it. Miles had fired at just the right time. Rael span round. He drove his axe vertically through another Dagger. One left. Cadence fired. The shot sped past the Dagger into the distance. She missed. It didn't matter. The Dagger exploded a couple of seconds later as Alexei sliced its power core.

Cadence watched as Rael signalled to Alexei to move back. Rael walked away from the facility as well.

"Commander Campbell. Please do the honour…"

She smiled. They had all kept their word. She aimed the Buster Dagger's rifle toward the facility and fired. The building sparked into flames. Flames of retribution.

"Well Commander Campbell. Your mission is successful.""Yes. Thanks to you three.""Hey, don't mention it Cadence!" shouted Miles."Yes. Do not worry Comm–"

Alexei was interrupted by the communication system. A message to all members of ZAFT from the Council? What was going on?

"Attention all soldiers on Earth. You may be unaware of the current crisis so I take this time to warn you…"

It was the Chairman. From the video feed he seemed to be on a battleship of some kind. What in the world was happening?

"Junius seven…" continued Chairman Durandal. "Is falling to the Earth as we speak. We ask that you help as many civilians as possible to shelter as well as finding it for yourself! Please make it through this safely!"


	10. Chapter 9

Falling! Rael had never heard something so terrible. What had happened? What was going on up there!? He couldn't work it out. He just couldn't understand. For now all he could do was get everyone to a safe place. Where be safe for ZAFT pilots and their Mobile Suits on Earth?

"Everyone. All we can do is head back to the encampment. At least we will be sheltered. It's not like the Alliance will help us. We'll have to use our Suits as overhead protection!"

He couldn't think of anything. It seemed that the others couldn't either. The all just agreed. 'This has to work' thought Rael as the group started out toward the camp.

Everywhere was so busy now. Cars and civilians littered the roadways as far as the eye could see. They were all heading to the bunkers. Rael was sure of that. He couldn't help but worry that they wouldn't all get in. How many innocents were going to die now? Would this spark another fully fledged war? Who was responsible for all this? So many questions that he just didn't know the answers too.

All four of them were silent. The announcement had been such a shock. It was understandable. Rael tilted his head toward the sky. Somewhere up there thousands of graves were descending toward him. He shivered. A small tear slid down his eye.

"Too much… This is too much…"

His voice sounded so hollow and empty. He couldn't believe someone could have caused this. It was, however, the only way. There was no natural explanation for it. Everyone knew Junius Seven was going to be orbit for years to come.

All of a sudden the desert seemed cold. It looked even more like a wasteland to him. Probably because it was going to be ruined. He didn't see any way to stop something like that from falling. The group marched on. Still silent. All Rael could hear was the wind rushing past.

They were nearing Alexandria. The roads were surprisingly clear. At the gates of the bunker there was only one bus load of civilians left. Looking down at them he recognised one. It was that girl. The girl from the school. He found himself watching her.

There was an older woman with her. Most likely her mother thought Rael as he stared. They were at the back of the queue. One by one the civilians were being allowed through. As the girl neared the front the doors closed.

Rael was confused. Why did they shut the doors? There were only two people left. He zoomed the camera in. It would have been easier if he could hear them but at least he could lip read.

"What's going on?" said the girl."We're full! Get out of here!" replied the Alliance guard."Come on Aria. We're going in here. Now you! Open the door!""No way lady!""Open this door now! Don't you understand what is happening!" screamed the woman.

The guard raised his gun. Rael's eyes widened with fear. What was this guy doing!?

"I said get out of here! This is your last chance!""You wouldn't dare! Now open this god damn door!""Very well, I deem you an enemy of the Alliance!"

The soldier fired. Rael couldn't believe what he was seeing. The woman fell down into the girl's arms. Rael began the shake with anger. He turned the ZAKU and ran toward the bunker. The soldier turned to aim at the girl before noticing the approaching Mobile Suit. His face filled with fear.

Rael opened the cockpit as he knelt the suit down. Grasping the knife laying beside him he dive out of the Suit towards the soldier. The girl looked up from her dead mother just in time to watch Rael fly past. He collided with the soldier. Blood shot into the air and the soldier screamed out in agony. The knife had pierced his shoulder. He tried to raise his gun but Rael tore out the knife and slashed the soldier's wrist. In the soldier's eyes Rael saw the acknowledgement of his own death. Rael was more than happy to speed it up. He drove the knife through the soldier's heart and held him down until he stopped moving.

The girl was in shock. Rael stood and walked toward her. She moved away in fear. Her eyes turned to her mother's body and she burst into tears.

"Miles. Get over here!" ordered Rael through his radio headset.

Miles walked over in his GuAIZ. He was silent.

"Miles. Please. Dig up some ground. This woman deserves to buried rather than just left here."

The girl looked up at Rael. She looked confused. The ground shook as Miles drove his Suit's hand into the ground digging up a large area of sand. Rael walked over to the girl.

"Please. Come over here. We'll give her the best funeral we can right now."

He stretched out his hand to the crying girl. She seemed reluctant at first but eventually took his hand.

"I'll carry her over there. Okay?" asked Rael. The girl simply nodded. Her face was covered in streaming tears. He helped to her feet before picking up her mother's body. She wasn't heavy. Just cold. He slowly walked over to the makeshift grave with the girl right next to him.

He gently placed the woman in the grave and signalled Miles to replace the sand. As it fell from the Suit's hand Rael closed his eyes and gently shook his head. He spotted two reasonably thick sticks of wood. After picking them up he tore off a part of his sleeve and tied them in a cross.

"Here. You should be the one who marks it…" said Rael, passing the cross to the girl. She slowly nodded and placed it into the ground.

"Is there anywhere you can go to be safe from the colony drop?""Err… No…" replied the girl, struggling to get the words out through her tears."Well. It's up to you but if you want, you can come with us. It would be safer than being out in the open."

The girl didn't make a move or sound for a few seconds. Then she gave a quick nod. Rael bowed his head and helped her up again. He walked her over to the ZAKU and assisted her into the cockpit. He sat in the seat and told her to sit on sideways on his lap. She did. The hatch closed and the Suit activated again.

Rael stood the ZAKU up and started off toward the camp again. The others followed. The girl turned her head toward Rael.

"My… my name's Aria…""Pleased to meet you Aria," Rael said with a smile. "My name is Rael."

She gave a small smile. It was probably all she could manage at a time like that. Her head tilted and flopped onto his shoulder and she fell asleep. Rael sighed and marched on.


	11. Chapter 10

It was hot. She was rocking. Where was she? Aria slowly opened her eyes. Through a thin green and brown canvas above her she could see the stars. They were beautiful. She'd never seen such a clear night sky. Then it suddenly hit her. Above them was Junius Seven, but it wasn't going to be up there for much longer. Fright took her over. Where was she? Was she safe?

There a crackling close by. She rolled her head to face it and saw three men and a woman sitting around a camp fire. On the right, staring almost longingly into flame was the man who had rescued her. Rael. He had said his name was Rael. Just past the group were four Mobile Suits. Aria recognised three of them instantly. They were one that had fought near her school. The blue Suit was there. That was Rael's suit. She only knew that because he had dived out of it to save her a third time. She had received her wish. She had met her hero, but her mother had to die for it to happen.

Aria slipped herself out of the hammock and walked over to the fire. Thankfully she was still dressed. Although, her lovely white dress was stained with dirt and her mother's blood. Tears were still slowly dripping from her eyes. All of the group, except the girl, turned to look at Aria. They all simply nodded as she sat with them.

"Good to see you are awake. Aria, wasn't it?" asked Rael.  
"Yes," Aria said giving a small smile.  
"Thank you for remembering, Rael."  
Rael nodded before continuing.  
"The one with the fag in his mouth over there in Miles, and the guy next to him is Alexei."  
"Pleased to meet you both." said Aria.  
"And her name's Cadence…" continued Rael.  
"Hello Cadence."

Aria smiled as spoke but Cadence didn't respond. Miles gave a small wave that resembled a salute more than anything. Alexei on the other hand smiled and bowed his head. The flame between them all danced about freely.

"Miss Aria– "

Aria interrupted Alexei before he could even start speaking.

"Please, it's just Aria."  
"Very well. Aria. What have you heard about Junius Seven?"  
"Only what the news has told us…"  
"Which is…?" asked Rael in a slightly cold voice.  
"That apparently ZAFT are trying to send it crashing into Earth…"

Rael tilted his head to ground. Cadence shook her head and Miles took another drag. Alexei sighed before continuing.

"I knew they would try that…"  
"Try what?" asked Aria.  
"Try to blame it on us… And yet, it's ZAFT that are up there right now trying to destroy the graves of their loved ones to save the Earth."  
"They're up there now!?"

A definite sound of shock flooded Aria's voice as she spoke.

"Yes. Our newest battleship is trying to destroy it alongside one our Elite squads."  
"They say there's gonna be a tidal wave…" added Miles.  
"A tidal wave! But we're right near Alexandria! Are we safe here!?" screamed Aria.  
"There has been a slight change of plan…" Rael continued, "we're gonna sit in the Mobile Suits until the danger has passed. We'll still be staying in this ravine though. That way we should be safe."

Aria sighed heavily. What had gone wrong? Everything seemed so great just a few short days ago. Now it had all been thrown upside down.

"How long until it's supposed to drop?"  
"About thirty minutes."  
"What!?"

Aria's eyes opened wide in terror.

"We're going to be getting in the suits in a second. We're just waiting until the last minute, otherwise it'll get very stifling in the ZAKU with both you and I in there."

Rael turned back to the fire. Cadence still hadn't said a word. Aria couldn't understand why. Miles just lay there smoking away, letting out the odd hollow cough. Alexei looked to the sky and closed his eyes. They were all interrupted by a beeping from Rael's Mobile Suit. Aria watched as he darted up to the cockpit. All of a sudden the suit was projecting someone's voice.

"To all ZAFT personnel. This is Chairman Durandal. The Minerva had successfully broken Junius Seven."

Aria noticed the saddened looks on the faces of all the others. It was understandable. So many people had died in the Bloody Valentine and now their graves weren't even there anymore.

"However," continued the Chairman's voice. "The pieces are still falling and we cannot stop them. Therefore, if you haven't already. Please, try to find somewhere safe. Also, I beg you to try and help the civilians as much as possible. A tidal wave is expected worldwide so keep that in mind. Good luck everyone."

Everyone around her stood up from the sand.

"Looks like its time, dude…" said Miles.

Alexei nodded and marched toward the Mobile Suit on the left, Miles went right. Cadence turned and walked towards her Mobile Suit as well.

"Aria. Come up here!" shouted Rael.

Aria did as she was told. Rael helped her climb into the cockpit before shutting the hatch behind her. Within a few short seconds she was staring at the heavens watching the remains of a colony shoot towards the Earth. They had an aura of magnificence around them despite what they truly were. The sky seemed to be on fire as thousands of pieces fell through the atmosphere. The ground shook for nearly ten minutes before it finally calmed. That, however, wasn't the worst of it. A few minutes later a large amount of water shot overhead, consuming the entire campsite. The sand around the group began to soften so they all ignited their jets to lift themselves out of the ground. It only took about three minutes for the water to pass and calm. The entire group of Mobile Suits moved toward the only tarmac road nearby. The Alexandria highway.

Ahead of them was the city. Or rather, what remained of it. The buildings had been lain to waste. There wasn't a single fire. Just steam. The tidal wave had sorted that out. Boat lay ruined on the wet sand, slowly sinking to oblivion. Aria couldn't hold back the tears. Rael whispered words just loud enough for her to hear.

"How could this happen…"


	12. Chapter 11

**Author Notes**

Okay, this a short chapter, I know, but it is simply to reintroduce Rael and Aria, as well as set the scene for the new 'season' of the story.

* * *

The screams of children searching for their parents echoed throughout the city of Alexandria. Each one pierced Rael's memories more. It was same, the feeling he had was the same as back then. Everything was so similar, even the looks of terror on the faces of the youngest children, now lost or injured amngost the debris. He couldn't understand how it could have happened. Who could have been so intent to rid the world of life that they would drop Junius Seven?

Aria was shaking next to him, her eyes fixated on the ruin that used to be Alexandria. Rael couldn't help but think that the tears she cried would have torn her apart with each drop. She was naive when it came to this, that much was obvious. As he glanced at her face, Rael thought to himself "what must she be thinking?"

There was a slight pain in his bicep as she clung to his arm in search of some form of comfort. Rael, however, could only stare at a small boy covered in bloodied clothes, dying in the arms of thier mother. Smoke rose up from nearly every building. Cars had been overturned by the tidal wave, rescue vehicles had been ruined. Rael had never felt so worthless. There he was, a ZAFT squad leader, powerless to help anyone.

All of sudden there was a loud rumble, and the concrete wall of one of the building began to fall in the direction of the grieving mother.

"Hold on!" shouted Rael as he sent the ZAKU speeding forward. Catching the wall diagonally on the back of suit, the cockpit shook violently. Within seconds, Miles had used his GUAIZ to pull the concrete off of the ZAKU, and with Alexei's aid, placed it safely on the floor. The mother stared straight up the Rael's ZAKU, now hovering over her.

"Is this how it felt before?" asked Aria out of the blue.  
"Sorry?" replied Rael.  
"When you did a similar thing for me and I gazed up at the Suit's camera... Did it feel this intense? ...this painful?"  
"No... You... You didn't that look of absolute desperation in your eyes. Her eyes... They're filled with sorrow and nothing else. That is why you find it painful."

Aria didn't answer that time, instead she looked straight at the mother, who subsequently dropped her head back to her child and began weeping.

"This... This is just too wrong..." she said as tears once again started to flow down his pale face.  
"This is much more the than 'wrong', this was delibrate. This was an act of pure aggression..."  
"What do you mean...?"  
"This was a warning... That's what I think anyway."

He could hear Aria gasped in fear as he spoke, but he couldn't shake the feeling that was only the beginning. The worst was yet to come, he was sure about that. A strong wind blew through the city, bringing with it small amounts of sand. The harsh sun light shone down, illuminating the painful truth of the devastation even further. "Too much," Rael thought to himself, "this is just too much..."

Looking around briefly, he noticed that Cadence has vanished. He had a feeling she harbored a greatdislike for Naturals. This had become apparent by her reactions to Aria, however, to simply leave them to die here was unbelievable in his eyes. Of course, he wasn't a Coordinator either, so does that mean she would happily abbandon him and his team if she found out?

"What will happen now?" said Aria, catching Rael off guard.  
"I don't know, but we will do what we can to help these people."  
"Why?" asked Aria, much to Rael's surprise.  
"What do you mean 'why'?"  
"Well, they're Naturals, and apart from you, your team are Coordinators. Don't Coordinators despise us Naturals?"  
"Some do, yes, but not all. Do you think you would have been welcome to stay with us if the others despised you?"  
"I... I guess not."

Rael flicked on the communication system before speaking again.

"Miles, Alexei, listen carefully! I don't know what's happened to Cadence but never mind that. Right now, your orders are to carry out rescue operations. I don't care if it's on foot or in your Suit, just help these people, understood?"

Two "yes, sir" messages came through the communication system at almost identical times. Rael watched as the two GUAIZ Suits went off in different directions. With a firm look of determination on his face, Rael turned to Aria and spoke once again.

"Let's go."


End file.
